Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Sells 65,227 Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. $HTH

Key Points

• Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC decreased its stake in Hilltop Holdings by 42.6%, selling 65,227 shares in the 1st quarter, now owning 88,044 shares valued at approximately $2.68 million.
• Hilltop reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.57 for the most recent quarter, exceeding analyst estimates of $0.41, although revenue fell short at $303.31 million against a forecast of $310.18 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.0% and a payout ratio of 32.29%.

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC trimmed its position in shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH - Free Report) by 42.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 65,227 shares during the quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Hilltop worth $2,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hilltop by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 8,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Hilltop by 0.8% during the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 52,735 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Hilltop by 4.4% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 10,736 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Hilltop by 18.7% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Hilltop by 2.1% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 24,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hilltop Price Performance

HTH traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $34.77. The stock had a trading volume of 119,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 413,874. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $32.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 0.88. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.67 and a 1-year high of $36.13.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $303.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $310.18 million. Hilltop had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 6.46%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Hilltop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Jonathan S. Sobel acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $35.36 per share, with a total value of $353,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 127,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,505,889.44. The trade was a 8.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have acquired a total of 60,000 shares of company stock worth $2,022,800 over the last ninety days. 29.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hilltop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Hilltop currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.00.

About Hilltop

Hilltop Holdings Inc provides business and consumer banking services. It operates through three segments: Banking, Broker-Dealer, and Mortgage Origination. The Banking segment offers savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; lines and letters of credit, home improvement and equity loans, loans for purchasing and carrying securities, term, agricultural and commercial real estate, equipment loans, and other lending products; and mortgage, commercial and industrial loans, and term and construction finance.